Root to Leaf Beet Shakshuka
This recipe is a riff on Green Shakshuka (link coming), which itself is a riff on traditional Shakshuka (link coming). It makes great use of the beet root, the beet greens and the beet stems. The dish is a flavor bomb, amped up with fragrant cumin and coriander, salty-tart feta cheese, creamy avocado and fresh herbs or an herb pesto. This shakshuka makes a special brunch dish or a great eggs-for-dinner supper.
Pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma is a great way to enjoy the bounty of eggplant in the summer. At its core, it’s pasta with eggplant and tomato sauce. You can make it anywhere from super easy to super elegant. Done well, it’s always super delicious.
Don’t Waste Your Leek Greens!
So many recipes with leeks say “only use the white portion” or “only use the white and tender light green portion.” I hate it when I see that!
Beet Stem Risotto with Roasted Beets and Braised Beet Greens
Sometimes you get really lucky and get a bunch of beets with gorgeous roots, greens, AND stems. Beet stems are tender and flavorful, but often not substantial enough to receive special treatment. I usually just include them when I cook up the greens. But sometimes they are substantial and deserve their own treatment.
Seafood Gumbo with Collards and White Sweet Potatoes
While signs of spring abound, the bounties of spring produce have yet to hit the farmers’ markets. Seasonal vegetables are still dominated by hardy greens and root vegetables. No worries, white sweet potatoes and collard greens are excellent in a seafood gumbo.
Cream of Roasted Carrot Soup
Root to leaf. The soup is all about carrot roots. The pesto is all about carrot greens. Add crispy carrot “coins” and you capture the essence of carrots in a nice little bowl.
Cream of Carrot Greens Soup
They do it in France! Take a lesson from the French. They know some things about cooking and eating.
Warm Hummus and Roasted Vegetables
Hummus is wonderful to start with, but heating it up somehow transforms it into something magical. It is a perfect, comforting complement to roasted vegetables.
Root to Leaf Radish Frittata
One bunch of radishes, including their greens is perfectly proportioned to star in an 8-egg frittata. Cooking radishes softens their texture and accentuates their sweetness, perfect to pair in an egg dish. Including their spicy greens is a great complement in this root to leaf dish.
Cream of Radish Greens Soup
The French get it. The lovely greens that top your bunch of radishes, they’re delicious too. Soupe aux Fans de Radis is one way the French utilize them. You should definitely give it a try!
Pan Charred Green Beans
A little char on green beans adds a ton of flavor. Giving them that char, while cooking them through is an easy exercise in a skillet, if you know just a few tricks.
Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille
Ratatouille is the quintessential dish of late summer. It combines tomatoes, squash and eggplant that arrive earlier in the summer with the sweet peppers which take a little longer to show up. This version of ratatouille uses a tomato sauce made on the stovetop while the other three vegetables are prepared in the oven to their own individual perfection.